1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to infrared radiation cooking appliances and, more specifically, to an infrared radiation cooker in which heat from an infrared lamp is directly applied onto food being grilled, to thus cook the upper and inner parts of the food, as well as onto a rotatable pan, to thus simultaneously cook the lower part of the food, with the result that the food cooks evenly throughout without burning or creating residual odors from above to below as well as from outer to inner, and further the rotatable pan of respectively different structures can be selected depending on an intended cooking purpose, to thereby adjust height of the rotatable pan, which changes a heat intensity, to thus vary a cooking style, and which can be used to boil, grill or roast foods as one would like.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is already known, infrared rays are longer in wavelength than visible light but shorter than microwave rays, falling between 750 μm˜1 mm. The classification ranges from far infrared rays which have a longer wavelength, and near infrared rays which have a shorter wavelength.
Infrared rays are invisible to the naked eye and cannot be dispersed by air molecules. They are stronger than visible light rays in measurement of penetration and, as a result, have been used in many industries, especially in communication and medical industries.
As compared to visible light rays and ultraviolet rays, infrared rays emit a high degree of radiant heat, which has led to the development of various heating apparatus and cooking appliances on the market.
One example of an existing infrared ray cooking appliance being Korean Patent Registration No. 0779225 published on Nov. 28, 2007. This infrared ray meat-grill uses a quartz external infrared lamp which is placed under a rotatable pan, and a reflective board under the infrared heating lamp. The infrared lamp in this invention, however, heats the grill pan from below, cooking food from one side alone. The inconvenience being that food must be turn over constantly in order for it to cook evenly top and bottom and, what is more, this appliance cannot be used for boiling.
Another example of a cooking appliance developed using infrared ray technology is Korean Utility-model Registration No. 314605 published on May 27, 2003. This meat roaster has a near-infrared ray lamp over a gridiron grilling pan and a reflective board over the infrared ray lamp. The meat roaster applies infrared rays directly onto meat from the above infrared ray lamp and successfully keeps meats from burning. This appliance does not, however, allow users to adjust the height level and, consequentially, the cooking time of meats by modifying the level of heat intensity. Additionally, the appliance only emits radiant heat from above, cooking on one side alone, providing a less even cooking process and removing the option of boiling meats.
In this way, previous infrared ray cooking appliances do not adequately provide an efficient and even cooking process for grilling foods. And, what is more, they leave users with little control over the cooking time or heat intensity of the cooking process and eliminate the possibility of boiling foods if desired. Due to the inconveniences explained above, the current infrared ray cooking products are not perfectly suited to accommodate the residential or commercial purposes of most individuals. Thus, there has been a long-felt and unsolved need to provide a thorough and efficient infrared ray appliance, which would enable users to simultaneously cook food on both sides at once. Bridging the gap between efficiency and revolutionary technology would allow users to enjoy the health benefits of infrared ray cooking and afford them the time saving benefits it can provide.